How can we teach students the most vital skills to function as citizens? Since the early 19th century, preparation for civic life has been the central reason for public schools. As part of a multi-year effort to reinvigorate the civic mission of schools, in 2016 the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) added […]

Rich Cairn, Emerging America, Collaborative for Educational Services, Northampton, Massachusetts Completed mostly by secondary social studies teachers and by school and district administrators, the survey shows a robust social studies program at the secondary level across Massachusetts. Most districts offer some kind of civics course. A majority offer some sort of civic engagement project. Of […]

Boston Public Schools teachers collaborated on this lesson to engage students with the sweep of American industrial and urban history. Due to Boston’s breathtaking changes in landscape, including the filling of much of Boston Harbor to create neighborhoods–the city offers a dramatic case study of change across the ages. In this lesson, students use primary […]

This performance task requires students to compare text, sound files, and images to deepen their understanding of the efforts by African Americans to advance the Double V Campaign (victory over racism at war and at home) during WWII. A timeline helps students sequence and visualize the relative length of time between events. Anticipating a growing […]

NEWS SURVEY: What grad credit do you need? Do you need PDPs in History? Education? https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2015EmergingAmerica Civics & Social Studies PD in the New Federal Education Act? – Learn how you can support it. Learn how to involve youth in civic engagement. April 22, 6:00pm – Advocacy Webinar – Civics for All – National Council […]